this last couple of months, i started playing with my little Craftsman 109 lathe again, i figured this forum is dedicated to mini airboats, why not talk about a mini lathe, that many consider to not be more than a toy.
these were an entry level lathe that Craftsman built from the 1920's to the 1960's. not a lot of bells or whistles on it. and it is not made to do the heavy stuff. it came with a 3" chuck and a bored out 1/2" spindle that turned it.
for the past couple of years i have been fighting worn out chucks and the other nuances that it has, but now i am looking to see what improvement that i can do to it. so it can be functional for me.
i had purchased this from my friend that has been helping me with all of my projects,
but for Christmas, one of my daughters gave me a quick change chuck and some bits, and this started me to see what i can improve on this small lathe.
i know that with small spindle, a steady rest would be in order, craftsman never made upgrades for this lathe, so i need to fab all these things up. so it gives me time to think about what and how i want to improve is functionality.
last week i picked up a Bison 3-1/4" chuck, and man does that make the lathe look small, and then i am realizing that the tail stock can and will get in the way. so i had to see if the quick release that i had for the steady rest would work on the tail stock. And IT Does.
here in a little while a lot of small parts, that are under 2.5 inches in diameter, i should be able to do with no problem, it will just take time. i figure about 1 hour on my lathe, is almost equal to less than 5 minutes on my friends. but maybe with a steady rest and a few other things, i might get the time comparison a little closer. i don't hope for much, but something has to be better.
below is a Utube video of the quick release that i have put on the tail stock at the moment. (little things like that can save so much frustration down the road)
the original tail stock mount was a 3/8" nut, on a carriage bolt. and of course it was on the back side. so you couldn't see it. so loosening and tightening the nut was never much fun. and it didn't come with a spring, so the bottom plate was always catching on the bottom of the ways.
https://youtu.be/ofe4GRIy7zA
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